Budget means less for Medicaid, nursing homes

State health budget cuts passed by the House and Senate would mean fewer nursing home workers and the gutting or elimination of programs aimed to prevent pregnancy, diabetes, lead poisoning and infant mortality.

The Department of Community Health budget calls for an 8 percent cut in Medicaid reimbursement rates to doctors and providers.

That cut would likely lead more doctors to refuse to treat Medicaid patients, said Dr. Bobby Mukkamala, an ear, nose and throat specialist in Flint.

"Doctors say, 'You know what? I didn't like it anyway, now that it's 8 percent less, forget it,' " he said.

At Hurley Medical Center in Flint, 42 percent of patients are on Medicaid. An 8 percent cut in reimbursement will mean a loss of between $6 million and $10 million to the hospital, said Kevin Murphy, senior vice president and chief financial officer. "That puts us in the red," Murphy said.

Nursing homes are hit even harder, said Reggie Hartsfield, president and owner of Advantage Management Group, which operates eight nursing home facilities in the state -- six in Metro Detroit.

With 800 residents and 85 percent of them on Medicaid, "an 8 percent cut is about $3 million," Hartsfield said.

The budget for the Healthy Michigan Fund, which coordinates health care prevention programs, is cut from $25 million to $11 million. Numerous programs were cut completely, including programs to help prevent lead poisoning in children and two infant mortality projects.

The state cut $400,000 to Wayne State University for diabetes education and outreach in Detroit.

Pregnancy prevention funding was slashed from close to $6 million to $1.1 million.